National English Honor Society’s logo is designed by Vera Nahrgang (11), featuring books to highlight their commitment to the club and the new initiatives they’re creating. NEHS underwent changes in its leadership and planning, which officers hoped would increase member participation. “I have higher hopes for this year,” officer Joan Gaffigan (12) said. “We keep in touch with each other, [so] we’ll be able to engage people. We’d like to have ourselves be more officially an honor society.”

National English Honor Society will have their second meeting Oct. 22; along with introducing leadership and explaining club basics, they’re also debuting their own book club to increase engagement for new and returning members.

“Every year, NEHS tries to have a book club, and almost every year it doesn’t work,” officer Joan Gaffigan (12) said. “This year, we did actually establish one.”

To choose their first book, members voted on various options until finally selecting The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Every two weeks, the new book club will meet to discuss chapters and plot progression. Their goal is to create an open space for English students to collaborate.

“I’m hoping that the book club will make people more interested in actually coming to the meetings and being more engaged,” Gaffigan said. “[It gives people] a chance to read recreationally, which isn’t something that a lot of people have a lot of time to do.”

With these changes in organization and projects, NEHS hopes to foster more participation and learning as a whole.  

“The book club will help the club become established,” Gaffigan said. “We’re hoping to do [initiatives that] make us more actively involved as an honor society.”